Pablo Almeida

Pablo Almeida's hands have shaped more wood than most craftsmen will see in a lifetime. Over a career spanning three decades, he has dedicated himself to the mastery of traditional furniture-making techniques — joinery, carving, veneering, turning, and finishing — with a commitment and patience that belongs to another era entirely.

Born in Ibarra, Ecuador, Pablo grew up surrounded by the country's rich tradition of handcraft. At 10, he began a formal apprenticeship under his father, a master cabinetmaker, spending his early years learning to read wood grain, sharpen tools to a mirror edge, and cut joints so precise they need no glue to hold. It was an education measured not in years but in thousands of hours of quiet, focused work.

After his apprenticeship, Pablo travelled to New York City, where he worked in the restoration workshops of several major auction houses, where he established himself as one of the city's most sought-after furniture restorers. His ability to replicate the work of historical masters — to match a 200-year-old finish, to re-cut a damaged carving so that the repair is invisible — brought him to the attention of collectors, museums, and eventually, and top designers and architects across the city.

When Erika founded Interior Designist in 2014, Pablo joined as her master craftsman and equal partner in the making. Their collaboration is one of creative dialogue: Erika brings the vision and the proportional sensibility; Pablo brings the technical knowledge to make that vision real, often pushing the designs toward greater ambition because he knows, from decades of practice, exactly what wood will do.

Pablo believes that great craftsmanship is not about speed or efficiency. It is about attention — to the material, to the design, to the person who will ultimately live with the piece. His work is his life's statement, made in oak and walnut and cherry, one joint at a time.